Instead of me commenting on the scary things that have happened in high schools in the US this past week, I thought I had to briefly talk about something people have just "noticed" happening... Online tutoring being "outsourced" to foreign countries such as India.


Link to article on Yahoo

A lot of students use the internet to help them with their homework, some using the popular and kid-focused websites, and others taking their chances with Google or other search engines.  I, for one, have found the internet helpful with researching for papers and assignments, but have always had trouble finding a site that gives me all the information and answers I am looking for. Luckily a great teacher/instructor has always been there to help me out.

Here comes the problem then- with teacher time depleting, students and their parents try to find the help they need, and some have found great success with tutoring centres and private tutors.  Often the tutors are well educated in the subject, and some such as myself, really enjoyed being able to help one person with their problems.

As demand increases, price can also increase, and that stems the problem some teachers are warning about in the article published on yahoo (link above- it's too long to copy post here).  Apparently some students and parents have found that online tutors based in India are very successful in helping their kids and don't charge the sometimes exorbatant price tags.  These tutors are trained in their subject areas, and I'm thinking that if they lived in the States or Canada, they would be teaching there if "they were allowed"  to.

We are all mindful and fearful that educational standards are met, and for the most part, feel safest when WE are in charge.  The fact that the online tutors are based in a FOREIGN country, out of our control and direct monitoring, adds to the fact that somehow we have this set stereotype of the people in that country- and that we are smarter and better equipped to help our children learn what they are supposed to be learning.

It is a shame that we are often very quick to try to stop other people, whom we have pre-judged, from trying to help us and perhaps make up for time and work we have not done for some reason or other.  I don't know all the NCLB statistics, or what exactly happens in US schools, but I hope that teachers, no matter where they are, are thinking about the students first.  If a student is doing better because they are getting one on one help from a tutor, then perhaps we need to look in to why they are doing better- perhaps that tutor is doing something that we should be doing too.

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